


Oswald is Considerate

by CobblepotsComfort



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Acts of Kindness, F/M, Gay Male Character, Lovesickness, Male-Female Friendship, Pining, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Unrequited Love, Villains, Villains to Heroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 12:38:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18011057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobblepotsComfort/pseuds/CobblepotsComfort
Summary: Miss Tula is struck by twinges of guilt and pangs of desire, which manifest themselves through a chronic physical illness.  Oswald's softer side is beginning to emerge.This will be a new chapter in Cobblepot's Comfort:  The Penguin and the Spider Woman.





	Oswald is Considerate

Oswald is Considerate.

 

“Miss Tula - is something amiss?”

 

Oswald couldn’t help but notice Taran’s furrowed brow and slightly cramped position.  She was also wincing. This could not escape his attention, no matter how much he tried to pretend otherwise.

 

She’d refused coffee today too - just when she’d persuaded him to start drinking it again.  Lone coffee drinking wasn’t one of his favourite pastimes, and the cafetiere designed for two wasn’t meant for solo sipping.

 

She never said no to coffee - she even had a second cup.  She always said that caffeine was like jump leads to her. That never failed to get a giggle out of him.

 

“Erm...no, not really, it’s just a little stomach ache, it will pass.”

 

Her facial expression and tone of voice did nothing to convince Oswald that whatever was troubling Miss Tula was anything small.

 

“Well, I think we are ready for a short break, don’t you?”

 

He really was busy today, but he could take no joy in his work if his little companion was clearly so unwell.

 

“But we can’t - you have so much on today, we need to get on....”

 

“A few minutes’ pause won’t make any difference, Miss Tula.  You are clearly in some discomfort. You would tell ME to stop working if I was in pain, wouldn’t you?”  he raised his ebony eyebrow meaningfully.

 

Taran smiled at Oswald with understanding.  She had told him to stop and take painkillers when his leg had clearly been especially cantankerous, on more than one occasion.  “Yes, of course I would. Thanks for being so considerate.”

 

“Well, there is no point in carrying on if you are unfit, anyway.  It would be counter-productive.” He sniffed and glanced away briefly.

 

“Yes, of course, you are right.”

 

“So off you go, then.  I hope you have something to help it?”

 

“Yes, I have medication.”

 

“And what exactly is the problem, if I may ask?”

 

“Of course you can, but I’m not sure I should share.”  

 

“Oh - well, if you’d rather not, I quite understand.”

 

“It’s just that...it’s not the kind of thing it would be seemly to describe to you.  It’s nothing serious, just unpleasant.”

 

Oswald sat back, sighed and stared at her curiously with his sharp blue eyes.  “You mean it would be something too disturbing for my delicate constitution to cope with?”  He cocked his head and batted his lashes provocatively. 

 

Taran swallowed hard and felt her heart fibrillate.

 

“Erm, no, of course not, I didn’t mean that.”

 

“Then tell me, Miss Tula.  What is it that ails you?” Oswald sat forward, clasped his hands and looked at her attentively.

 

“Well, Mr Cobblepot - if you really want to know - it’s IBS. Erm, you know - irritable…erm, it’s my stomach, ” she completed clumsily.

 

“Ah, your stomach - right,” he replied hastily.  “So it must be - painful for you?” He clasped his hands a little harder and tightened his brow.

 

“Well, it can be, but it’s really not that serious.  Listen, Mr Cobblepot - this is a problem that I’ve been able to manage with my meds for years.  It will cause no problems with my missing work, there’s really no need to worry about that. It just seems to be flaring up a bit lately for some reason.”

 

“Hmmm, the stress of working for your tyrannical boss has brought it on, no doubt,” Oswald responded playfully with a wink.

 

Taran laughed.  “No, of course not!”  This relaxed her a little and served briefly to distract her from her pain.

 

“Well, that’s a relief, anyway,” he grinned, wrinkling up his nose.  She grinned back. 

 

Taran knew Oswald was right about the psychological turmoil, although it had nothing to do with him being hard on her.  Quite the opposite, in fact.

 

Because the real root of the problem was love.  She was lovesick, besotted with ‘her’ Mr Cobblepot.  

 

One glance from those bright blue-green eyes, a flick of those raven lashes as he looked at her searchingly, sometimes with genuine concern as he had done just now, was enough to bring on goosebumps.    

 

Lately he had seemed far less uptight,  more restrained with his temper and even somewhat gentle around her.  He must be beginning to trust her and feel comfortable with her. 

 

These changes in him made her feel stupidly hopeful  for something that must surely be well beyond her reach.  He was a wealthy kingpin, she his ‘lowly’ secretary - or ‘assistant’, as he now generally chose to call her.  Although she was glad about this subtle change in the way he referred to her, she wanted to be much more than just an ‘assistant’ to him.   When he gave her his dazzling feline smile, or winked at her in that conspiratorial way, or lowered his voice secretively as if sharing what he wanted to say with her and her alone, this made her stomach turn over with excitement as well as her heart flutter with desire.  

 

A secretary in love with her boss.  So trite, a ridiculous cliche, but nevertheless true.

 

He was no ordinary boss, of course.   He was a crime boss - the King of Crime in Gotham.  This made a complex scenario even more complicated. And she was meant to be spying on him, too.  Well, that ship had sailed long ago.

 

The only ‘ship’ she wanted now was a RELATIONship with him.  A close one, even more than friendship, with kisses and cuddles and lots, lots more.  She wanted to be his lover. That pretty mouth and those exquisite, elegant hands were going to waste as far as she was concerned - and the thought of being up close and personal with his slender, fragrant body was enough to drive her wild.  She found his cologne both sensual and comforting with its top notes of sandalwood and cedarwood and base notes of oak and vanilla. 

 

She knew that he was, of course, far too beautiful for her.   She was a plain, unremarkable woman with her fine, mousy hair and pale grey eyes.   And he may be a criminal, but she still felt that he was a much finer - as well as more refined  - person than she was. She might have a college degree, but he was quick, clever and urbane, far surpassing her in God-given intelligence.   She admired him tremendously. 

 

She knew she shouldn’t hero-worship a villain but she did, all the same.  And he was generous enough to treat her almost as his equal now he was better acquainted with her.  This made her grateful but also served to make her feel even more unworthy, especially given her guilt.

 

Any soulmate of Oswald’s had to be someone on his intellectual level - who could connect with his quick mind and converse with him like an adult, not stumble and falter and trip over their words in the shy, gauche way she did.  

 

She wondered if he had any inkling at all about her true feelings for him.  

 

She also wondered if she had any right to expect his love and affection.  She had originally been assigned to snitch on him, after all. The fact that she had chosen not to was neither here nor there - she had still deceived him at the start, wormed her way into his life with her empathetic words and sweet smiles.  She had been devious enough to do pull that off, hadn’t she? In that sense she had been far too clever, and now, she knew couldn’t leave or betray him no matter what the incentives. She was trapped in a prison of her own making, one that she would never want to escape from.

 

She cheered herself by reflecting that he clearly did care for her, although he was trying to play it down.  Another thing she was definitely good at was reading between the lines. She was getting closer to him and that could only be a positive thing.

 

Meanwhile, she continued to be affected by that age-old incurable condition - unrequited love.

  
  
  
  



End file.
